Action required

Inspection Bodies wishing to conduct inspections remotely according to the permission notice issued by CACES for COVID-19 related essential equipment shall abide by the requirements noted below.

Affected customers

All Inspection Bodies accredited by SCC to perform inspection in accordance with SPE-1000 & SPE-3000.

Background

This Bulletin is complimentary to the issued SCC Bulletin: 2020-18 with regards to a response from CACES & SCC to COVID-19 situation in relation to Inspection Bodies that are accredited to carry out inspections for SPE-1000 / SPE-3000.

The Canadian Advisory Council on Electrical Safety (CACES), as the Regulatory Authority Advisory Body (RAAB), has the ultimate jurisdiction over the ownership and operation of the Inspection Body Accreditation Program in relation to inspections performed under SPE-1000 and SPE-3000 and, in conjunction with SCC, is offering solutions that will help accredited Inspection Bodies to process inspections while maintaining their safety and the safety of the equipment to be inspected.  As such, CACES has issued a notice that remote inspections are acceptable during the pandemic solely for the purpose of COVID-19-related essential equipment.

Inspection Bodies are required to comply with the requirements listed below if they wish to offer any inspections remotely. SCC will be verifying that Inspection Bodies are conforming to the requirements below through the scheduled assessments. 

New requirements

• Inspection Bodies shall establish procedures and processes which allow for the use of ICT in accordance with IAF MD 4:2018 and IAF ID 12:2015
• Inspection Bodies shall have a documented procedure for how they will conduct a remote inspection covering the items below:
  • The IBs and their customers shall demonstrate capabilities for conducting a successful inspection remotely (having access to uninterrupted audio/video conferencing tools)
  • The IB shall have evidence that the equipment to be used for testing is calibrated by an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited calibration provider (the equipment shall not be out of tolerance)
  • The IB shall maintain evidence that they instructed the inspection client with setting up the testing apparatus with the equipment, and that the measurements taken are accurate
  • The IB shall have evidence that they were able to view all of the equipment, access to any parts of the equipment, and the environment surrounding the equipment
  • The IB shall have evidence that they assessed all parts of the applicable code/standard; if any conditions of acceptability are required, they shall be documented
  • The IB shall ensure that the agreement between the IB and its client is in place and signed electronically 
• The IB shall maintain a log of all the inspections that are conducted remotely, and the end location of the equipment if it was not evaluated at the installation site
• Upon successfully completing the inspection, the approval provided by the IB shall be conditional and be in the form of a certificate issued electronically. The IB shall NOT mail nor apply inspection labels on remotely inspected equipment
• The certificate shall be made available to the AHJ by the customers or the IB upon request
• The Inspection Certificate shall indicate conditional approval and be traceable to the inspection report as per the requirements of ISO/IEC 17020
• The IB shall conduct an on-site inspection and apply the inspection label on the conditionally-approved product within 6 months once the applicable pandemic-related work restrictions have been lifted or as otherwise indicated by the Authority Having Jurisdiction

Deadline

None

Questions?

Please contact Abdel Kassou, Manager, Compliance and Assessment Services, at abdel.kassou@scc.ca or +1 613 238 3222 ext. 443 for more information.